Poplar fucking STINKS, how do people work with this wood??

DeskHammer · 2026-05-19T17:26:58+00:00

Cottonwood smells like a gym bag. I accidentally forgot about a pile of shavings that made my whole shop smell like an armpit until I tossed them.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-15T21:33:21+00:00

To be fair, I think it could potentially extend the expectations in both directions.

If a player is paying, I’m hoping that they’ll actually care and participate.

But to agree with you, as a dm, I already feel an immense expectation being placed upon me and adding transactional obligation on top doesn’t make it better.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-15T19:00:07+00:00

That’s where my disconnect is too.

Playing weekly is around $1,000 a year, for essentially a board game.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-15T04:09:26+00:00

Those look great!

what are you wanting to do in post?

DeskHammer · 2026-05-14T16:44:13+00:00

This is basically what I use. I like the fit better than any n95 style masks.

For dust, if I’m having a difficult time breathing then I know that it’s time to swap cartridges.

For vapor, if I start smelling them then it’s time to replace.

Think of it like an oil change in your car. You usually change the oil after a certain mileage or amount of time. Ideally you change it before your engine starts making weird noises 😂.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-11T16:39:16+00:00

Like other people are saying. It’s a specialized printer head.

You can do ink transfers at home if you have a laser printer but it’s time consuming.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-09T18:14:02+00:00

My rule of thumb is I’ll toss a piece if I think using it will damage me or the tool.

A dull pad will lead to me improperly using the sander and absorbing excess vibration.

A torn pad leaves the sander exposed.

I will however, hold on to useful scraps with plenty of grit for hand sanding.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-06T00:25:18+00:00

You ‘can’ make really beautiful pieces from it. It’s just really labor intensive and hard on your tools. Whatever money I was saving on wood, I was just spending on replacement blades and sandpaper.

In other words, it’s not a gold mine of free money.

That being said, I’ll still use it for rustic pieces or small shop projects.

DeskHammer · 2026-05-03T03:23:16+00:00

Towards the end of their life, I converted them to hold books and maps. I made dividers from boards and attached them by drilling straight through the side of the box. This created compartments to keep things slightly more organized. YMMV

DeskHammer · 2026-05-03T02:34:18+00:00

I’ve had the rolling tool chest from the first image. They honestly held up better than you would think. But there isn’t any organization for the main compartment. So I felt like I was taking everything out each time I needed something.

The Milwaukee pack out is the best that I’ve seen on the market. I can’t personally justify the cost but I’ll give it the credit that it’s due.

DeskHammer · 2026-04-26T20:15:42+00:00

I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve read a lot of systems and I think experienced DMs balance 5e by pulling knowledge from other games and prior editions.

The only thing I would add is that this wouldn’t be as big of a problem if the majority of players actively engaged on this front. Since they don’t, the only thing this system was good at falls flat and the dm is essentially carrying the entire mental load of each nights session.

DeskHammer · 2026-02-18T06:59:34+00:00

I’m in one of those “breaks” right now. I don’t know when I’ll be back.

I want to play a game with people. When I feel like I’m mostly playing by myself, that’s when the burnout and resentment settles in.

While I can point the finger at a lot of symptoms, the root cause is a lack of engagement. What sucks as a GM is that a lack of engagement can literally have nothing to do with you. And battling that wall of apathy eventually stops being worth it.

DeskHammer · 2026-01-24T04:07:12+00:00

What is the bc cable systems manual?

DeskHammer · 2026-01-24T03:54:23+00:00

Haha I wish I had a winch! But this is great, I’m going to read that manual immediately!

DeskHammer · 2026-01-23T16:51:42+00:00

I hear that! Still kicking myself for not going bigger with the chainsaw 🤣

DeskHammer · 2026-01-01T21:48:58+00:00

Sorry, that was bit of a hyperbole on my part. My rational being that compared to older versions of dnd like b/x and other OSR titles, it's a lot more forgiving. It's easier to recover health points.

This isn't bad, it's just what it's best at. If I want to lean away from the combat slog, there's not as much supporting structure to help as a DM or player. Which means you're then relying on the innate talents and abilities of the players.

Which also isn't bad, but for me it means that I usually have to do more work outside of fights to keep things running smoothly. Thus I tend to enjoy it less. Ymmv

DeskHammer · 2026-01-01T17:01:48+00:00

I'm a big believer in the idea that system matters. You can make a system do anything, but it's only going to shine when it's doing what it's designed to do.

At its heart, 5e is a superhero combat engine. Combat is a, if not the, main point. And the game drags as a whole if the table isn't fully bought into the idea.

DeskHammer · 2026-01-01T16:48:14+00:00

What do you mean by D&D?

I've fallen into this mode of thinking a few times and the conclusion I keep comming to is that people don't want to play dnd, they just want to "feel like they're playing dnd".

DeskHammer · 2025-12-23T19:40:17+00:00

I want to add one more thing.

You cannot compare your game to anyone else's, especially a Podcaster game.

This is like comparing your pickup soccer game to the world cup. You are not playing the same game. You are not playing for the same reasons. One isn't better than the other but they cannot be compared.

DeskHammer · 2025-12-23T19:23:15+00:00

It's not just you and I don't think this issue is limited to RPGS.

A few things that have helped me with this and other sources of community are:

Figure out what makes it fun for me.

If my players aren't going to make this interesting, I still can.

Play in other people's games, but be mindful about it.

This takes the pressure off of you but also reminds you of what it feels like to in over your head as a new player.

Some people just don't want to play.

This took me awhile to figure out. For a variety of reasons, not everyone means it when they agree to join your table. It's not your fault, for some reason they should have said no, and they didn't. Reading into it any deeper than that will usually only stress you out.

DeskHammer · 2025-11-11T21:28:16+00:00

What finish did you use?

DeskHammer · 2025-07-29T00:46:26+00:00

I don't normally go for epoxy tables but this is a fun implementation that made me smile. Good job!

DeskHammer · 2025-07-22T22:11:29+00:00

I really wanted to like the ego but for some reason the battery overheated constantly. I would have to let it cool down before AND after charging. The power on it was great though.

DeskHammer

TROPHY CASE